Album: Altar Of ZÖN
By: ZÖN aka Mondo Bungle
1. Lucifré: Can't hear anything for a little while. Eventually we find ourselves being engulfed by some very dark drones and little bits of feedback flowing in and out of the mix. I think I hear some light, ethereal vocals in the background. Things lower in intensity later in the track. I really like the light drumming you can start to hear. Overall I liked this track and the dark atmosphere it established but I can't say it made much impression on me beyond that.
2. Dybbuk Communion: This sounds very like...Satanic I guess is a good word for it. Which is definitely cool. It kind of feels like a constant buildup but it's not actually building up if that makes sense, which is a weird feeling and kind of makes me strangely tingly or something. I really like when there's a sort of screaming sound near the end, it's extremely spooky. What I didn't like as much was the length which is a common problem for me with the music of some of the artists here like Mondo and Frownland.
3. Acharonim: Coolest of the bunch so far I'd say, the floating screechy synth/guitar (not sure which) is keeping me engaged rather than spacing out like with the previous two tracks. You've done a great job creating a consistent sense of unease throughout the album which I'm guessing was your intention.
4. Prince Of the Cherubim: Really like how it begins with those sort of delayed percussion hits. Some really nice guitar feedback thrown in. Around 5:30 there's some really neat stuff going on but I'm starting to feel really bogged down by the overall doomy sound of the album. Not the type of album I'd usually sit down and digest the whole way through. I'm liking it overall but boy it's like getting hit by a truck after a while.
5. Lithomancy: Loving the use of the softer guitar in this track. There's some gorgeous haunting atmosphere throughout this track. This is my favorite off the album for sure so far, very well done overall. I love when the distorted guitar comes in to add intensity yet you're still holding back a bit and hitting occasionally acoustic notes and making what seems like a sort of triumphant melody. I feel like I battled through the underworld and am emerging victorious yet absolutely exhausted from the gauntlet I just faced. It ends pretty spookily though as if the battle's not over yet.
6. Swear the Spirit By Laying His Hand on the Sword: Really like the whole vibe of how it starts. However by minute like six I'm getting pretty drained and tired of it and hoping for something new to pop up. Yeah this one's just way too long and is not keeping me very interested at all, I'm afraid.
Verdict: If this had been like forty minutes total I would've loved it, but as-is it's just too long and overbearing for me to ever want to consume as a whole again. There were some parts I definitely loved however and Lithomancy is a seriously great track. I'd give it like a 6.5-7/10 probably